Double Fiber Capacity with Dual Fiber to Single-Fiber Conversion

Dual fiber can be converted to single-fiber as a technique to double the capacity of the existing dual fiber infrastructure. Dual fiber uses the same wavelength over two different strands of fiber; with one strand as transmit (Tx) and other strand as receive (Rx). Single-fiber is single-mode and operates with bi-directional wavelengths, often referred to as Bi-Directional, or BIDI. Typically BIDI single-fiber uses 1310nm and 1550nm wavelengths over the same fiber strand in opposite directions.

In example A, a dual fiber link connects two switches in different buildings.

In example B, new switches are added to each location, and fiber-to-fiber media converters double the capacity of the dual fiber link by converting each strand of the dual fiber to a BIDI single-fiber link.

In example C, fiber-to-fiber media converters double the capacity of the dual fiber link by converting each strand of the dual fiber to a BIDI single-fiber link, providing redundancy protection between the two switches.

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Convert Dual Fiber to Single-Fiber

Networks may require conversion between dual and single-fiber, depending on the type of equipment and the fiber installed in the facility. Single-fiber is single-mode and operates with bi-directional wavelengths, often referred to as BIDI. Typically BIDI single-fiber uses 1310nm and 1550nm wavelengths over the same fiber strand in opposite directions. The development of bi-directional wavelengths over the same fiber strand was the precursor to Wavelength Division Multiplexing.

In this application, two dual fiber switches are connected via single-fiber. Since BIDI single-fiber uses two separate wavelengths over the same fiber strand, the transmit (Tx) at one end of the fiber link matches the receive (Rx) from the other end, and vice versa.

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Convert Multimode to Single-mode Fiber

Networks often require conversion from multimode (MM) to single-mode (SM) fiber, which supports longer distances than MM fiber. Mode conversion is typically required when:

1. Network distance requirements exceed the limit of MM fiber
2. Lower cost legacy equipment uses MM ports, and connectivity is required to SM equipment
3. A building has MM equipment, while the connection to the Service Provider is SM
4. MM equipment is in a campus building and SM fiber is used between buildings

Fiber-to-fiber media converters can extend a MM network across SM fiber with distances up to 140km for Fast Ethernet (100Mbps) and 80km Gigabit Ethernet (1000Mbps). In this application, two Ethernet switches equipped with MM fiber ports are connected utilizing a pair of fiber-to-fiber converters which convert the MM fiber to SM and enable network connectivity across the distance between the switches.

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10G Multimode to Single-Mode with Direct Attach Cable Application

This application shows two 10G switches with SFP+ ports in two different locations. The switches are connected via long-haul, single-mode fiber (>80km) with a pair of iConverter XG media converter (SFP+ to XFP). In the top location, a low-cost SFP+ Direct Attach Cable is used to connect the 10G switch port to the media converter because the distance is within the 10 meter limit of the Direct Attach Cable. In the bottom location, a pair of multimode SFP+ transceivers provide the connectivity between the media converters and the switches.

Omnitron managed and unmanaged fiber-to-fiber media converter products enable connectivity between different fiber types and extend the distance of fiber links.

• Convert multimode to single-mode fiber
• Convert dual fiber to single-fiber
• Retime, regenerate and reshape the fiber signal for distance extension
• Provide transponder functions and convert to WDM wavelengths

Omnitron fiber-to-fiber media converters support a variety of network protocols and data rates.

• 100Mbps, 1000Mbps and 10Gbps Ethernet
• OC-3/STM-1, OC-12/STM-4, OC-48/STM-16 SONET
• Protocol Transparent (Ethernet, SONET/SDH or Fibre Channel) up to 11.32Gbps

Omnitron Fiber-to-Fiber Media Converters

iConverter fiber-to-fiber media converters modules are part of the iConverter Multi-Service Platform that supports SNMP management, advanced features and a variety of data rates and network protocols.

FlexPoint fiber-to-fiber unmanaged media converters provide unmanaged single-mode to multimode and dual to single-fiber conversion.